Considering battery storage on your Placer County property?

Establish the process for this property and this proposal

A developer should be able to identify the proposed site, the actual parcel and the office handling its planning review. Start with the location and proposed use rather than assuming that every project with a Placer County address follows the same process.

The county’s planning page provides zoning and development resources, with separate Auburn and Tahoe services. Its universal application records zoning, general-plan designation, the applicable general or community plan, hearing body and whether the proposal is a major project. Ask the company to explain the applicable entries for your land.

The county’s archived Country Acres page shows why a project description matters. That mixed solar-and-storage proposal involved Farm and specific-plan zoning, a conditional-use permit and proposed changes to plan and development-agreement provisions. It also described SMUD as the environmental-review lead and the county as a responsible agency.

Those details belong to that archived case. They do not establish that a standalone battery facility is allowed on another tract, that a floodplain policy applies to it or that the same reviews are required. Ask the company for the current requirements tied to its actual proposal.

If the company proposes a state certification route instead of county planning approvals, have it identify that route and explain how it affects the local process. This guide focuses on the county’s posted application materials; it does not establish the correct route for every facility.

Reference: Placer County: Planning Services · Placer County: Universal Application Form, revised June 30, 2026 · Placer County: archived Country Acres solar and storage project description

A preliminary meeting helps define the work still needed

The county’s predevelopment instructions require a meeting before an entitlement application for a project classified as major. They describe preliminary project information and a site plan showing the full scope and major improvements. A meeting may also be requested for other projects.

The purpose is to discuss the review process, likely environmental review and the maps, exhibits and studies needed. County divisions involved can include planning, engineering, transportation, flood control, fire, building and others. A conversation with staff is useful progress, but it is not a permit or permission to start construction.

After the meeting, the instructions place preparation of the required materials on the applicant or its representative. Major-project applications are not accepted without the required supplemental materials. If a company says it has met with the county, ask for the resulting checklist and which items remain.

The meeting has a nonrefundable filing fee. Find out who pays for the meeting and followup work before authorizing an application. A preliminary drawing should also be clear enough for you to see the proposed equipment, roads, electrical route and uses you would retain.

Ask how old the meeting information is. The instructions say it is valid for one year and that major applications filed more than two years after the meeting need a new meeting. They do not resolve every situation between those points. Have the company confirm whether its checklist is still usable, particularly if the design has changed.

Reference: Placer County: predevelopment meeting requirements

Read the owner authorization with the completed project description

The universal form separates the applicant or representative from the property owner. Its project description asks about purpose, size, phasing, operations and associated construction. Review what the company has written and compare it with the proposal you have discussed.

One authorization allows the listed applicant to apply for approvals, act as the owner’s agent for the described project and receive county notices and correspondence. Understand who would hold that role, what project it covers and how you would receive copies. Do not rely on the label “just paperwork” to explain the authority.

The form includes an indemnification section concerning defense, claims and costs associated with project approval, with owner signature lines. It also describes an owner acting as applicant and agreeing to certain defense-cost obligations. Have your adviser explain the actual commitments and how the developer’s agreement addresses them.

The form separately authorizes county review personnel to enter the property or structures for the application. That is different from the private access you may grant a developer for surveys or testing. Keep each permission, its purpose and the party using it clear.

Request the completed version and attachments before deciding what to sign, then retain the version actually submitted. Ask how later changes to the company, project description or plans will be brought to you. Authorizing an application should not leave you guessing what was requested in your name.

Reference: Placer County: Universal Application Form, revised June 30, 2026

Understand what the application deposit does and does not cover

The county’s at-cost notice says many major-project approvals are processed using a deposit. Staff time and direct expenses are charged against it, with monthly invoices. If charges exceed the deposit, the applicant is billed for additional actual review time.

That means an initial payment is not necessarily the total cost of planning review. The notice lists activities such as field visits, meetings, environmental review, reports and hearings. Ask the company to establish the applicable classification and current charges rather than treating one quoted filing amount as the full budget.

The universal form’s major-project disclosure includes owner signature lines. Before signing, understand the account arrangement, who receives invoices, who pays additional charges and what happens if the company stops pursuing the project. Compare the public paperwork with the company’s written cost commitments to you.

The posted notice gives ten days from receipt to raise invoice questions before it is treated as correct and payable. It also describes restrictions on processing or permit issuance for overdue accounts, followed by stop-work status and collection steps. Ask who monitors invoices and prevents an unpaid balance from delaying the proposal.

Unused deposits are not described as an automatic refund when the company loses interest. The notice says a written request after final action can return unused deposits to the person or firm that paid them. Have the preparer explain the applicable refund process and who keeps the records.

No exact battery-project budget is established here. The current fee schedule, technical studies, outside consultants and other approvals need their own review. Your agreement should make the party responsible for those costs clear before money or signatures are requested.

Reference: Placer County: at-cost processing of major projects · Placer County: Universal Application Form, revised June 30, 2026

Filing an application does not authorize site changes

The universal application includes a commitment not to alter the property during processing without prior written county approval. Its examples include tree removal, construction or demolition, stream changes, grading, fill and subsurface scientific testing.

If the company wants soil work, clearing or other early activity, have it explain what the county allows and what separate private permission it needs from you. A submitted application should not be treated as permission for every investigation or improvement.

The form also calls attention to possible separate agency review before grading or construction. Ask the company to establish the actual environmental, drainage and other requirements for the work it proposes. The form’s references are not a complete approval checklist for a battery project.

For a proposal requiring a county conditional-use permit, the posted instructions call for more than the universal form: an environmental questionnaire, project description, plan set and applicable payment. They describe a public hearing and a written decision with findings. Approval can include conditions, and denial is possible.

Ask for the written outcome and conditions, not merely a scheduled hearing, a paid invoice or a statement that staff supports the proposal. Also ask which further approvals and construction requirements remain. Keep utility charging and export review separate from land-use progress.

Reference: Placer County: Universal Application Form, revised June 30, 2026 · Placer County: conditional-use permit filing and decision process

Check the documents behind a permit-status report

Placer’s research page provides three different resources: the citizen-access portal, electronic documents and GIS mapping. Each can help answer a question, but the county describes limits to what each shows.

The portal provides active and historical permit details without the actual application. If the company shows you a record number or portal entry, ask for the completed application, current plans and any written decision. A status summary is not a substitute for those documents.

The electronic document system includes records processed to completion and scanned into the system, with additional permits still being added. If an online search finds nothing, do not conclude from that alone that the property has no approval history. Ask which documents are available from the company and what further county research is needed.

GIS provides zoning and land-use information for a parcel. Use it to frame questions, then establish the applicable rules, project classification and any specific-plan or other conditions. A map label does not itself approve the proposed battery use.

Ask for copies you can keep and compare over time. The approved layout, conditions, amendments and remaining milestones matter to your land agreement. If the company changes the equipment area, access or operator, find out whether its public approvals and private rights still cover that change.

Reference: Placer County: zoning and permit research, portal and document limits

Start with the location and what you want from the property

Use the form to send your contact details, then the land’s location. Placer County and California are selected on this page; change those if necessary. Acreage and parcel number are optional. You can begin with the road, nearby community and what you know about the tract.

Tell us which uses you want to keep and whether you would consider a lease, sale or project on part of the land. If another company has asked you to authorize an application, pay review costs or allow site work, mention what it has requested.

Sunland may follow up to learn more. Sending an inquiry does not appoint an agent, file a county application, authorize entry, pay a deposit or commit you to a transaction. You do not need to prepare county paperwork before asking about your property.